F. Dale Lolley's Sports Column

McGuffey’s Stiles wins state smallbore title

McGuffey’s Stiles wins state title

Published Mar 4, 2013 at 1:48 pm
(Updated Mar 4, 2013 at 1:49 pm)

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After finishing third at the WPIAL Individual Rifle Championships Feb. 14, McGuffey’s Courtney Stiles completed a strong junior season by capturing the PA State Individual Smallbore Championship with a score of 395.

Stiles, who shot a 200-19X at the WPIAL event, edged Trinity’s Kayla Huffman, who had also shot a 200-19X at the WPIAL event. Huffman shot a 393.

Stiles is the sixth individual state champion from McGuffey since the state tournament began in 2002, joining Wes Lauff (2004), Joel Nuzum (2006), Stephanie Small (2007), Rebekah Ashbrook (2008) and Salena Helmkamp (2011).

Stiles also shot a team-best 197 in the team portion of the event, helping McGuffey finish in second place behind WPIAL champion Hempfield, which won the state tournament with a 974. The Highlanders shot a 969 to edge third-place Avella by one.

Avella’s Brent Morgan finished fourth at the state championships with a 392, while teammate Cassandra Hamilton was sixth at 391.

Trinity’s Tyler Miller rounded out the area’s top 10 finishers, coming in ninth with a 387.

Stiles and Kelly McCosby earned all-tournament honors in the team portion of the event. McCosby fired a 197.

McCosby also won top honors at the WPIAL Senior Shoot, edging Bethel Park’s Jim Lofstead with a 200-19X.

Avella had three all-tournament shooters at the state tournament, as Morgan and Hamilton were joined by Sylvia Dreistadt.

• Frazier-Simplex moved its record to 14-0 in the Greater Pittsburgh and Suburban Rifle League with a win over second-place Dormont-Mt. Lebanon Sportsmen this week, 1,481-1,476.

Dormont-Mt. Lebanon dropped to 12-3.

Frazier-Simplex dedicated the victory to former teammate Dave Cramer, who died late last year. Cramer, the 1967 and 1977 National Indoor Champion, shot for Frazier from 1981 through 2012.

Tom Santelli and Sylvia Dreistadt led the way for Frazier, both shooting 297, while Tom Morley and John Husk each shot a 296. Zac Szabo fired a 295 to round out the scoring for the winners.

Tom Gerner had high honors in the match with a 298 for Dormont-Mt. Lebanon, which also got a 296 from Dean Trew, 295s from Nicholle Benedict and Matt Piatt and a 292 from Tom Benedict.

• The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission stocking trucks began rolling through the area with trout last week, with more coming this week.

The waterway that was stocked last week was Dutch Fork Lake. The lake has begun refilling – it’s about 5 feet deep in the middle right now – and Friday it received its first stocking of fish since it was drained in 2004.

• The Eastern Sports and Outdoors Show, which was postponed Feb. 2 after its organizer banned the display of certain weapons, will not be rescheduled this year, according to the Lancaster Intelligencer Journal.

A number of vendors pulled out of the show after the event’s organizers, Reed Exhibitions, banned the display of assault-style weapons following the Sandy Hook shooting in Connecticut.

Officials who run the Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg said they hope to hold a show of similar size in February.